


The Delinquents

by summers-maclay-lehane (ofstormsandwolves)



Series: Sunnydale 2019 [11]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22090405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofstormsandwolves/pseuds/summers-maclay-lehane
Summary: When Buffy and Faith get caught skipping classes, Snyder turns out to be the least of their problems when their parents are called in.
Relationships: Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers, Rupert Giles/Joyce Summers
Series: Sunnydale 2019 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1377481
Kudos: 76





	The Delinquents

Rupert Giles knew one thing for certain working as he did at Sunnydale High; if Principal Snyder requested your presence in his office in the middle of the day, it was never for a good reason.

But what the reason was, he had no idea. With the ill-tempered, easily annoyed principal it could be anything; from overhearing a rumour from a pupil in a corridor, to an impending apocalypse. Of course, the second one was rather unlikely, but Snyder seemed to treat every issue like it spelled out certain doom so the possibility did cross Giles’s mind. 

When he arrived at the principal’s office, however, the sight that greeted him was one he had not been anticipating. And it seemed much worse than an apocalypse. 

Looking more than a little guilty, Faith and Buffy were sat side by side in the uncomfortable chairs Snyder always had facing his desk. Said principal was sat behind said desk with a smug look on his face that made Giles’s stomach churn. Standing beside Faith’s chair, dressed in a blouse and skirt, and wearing a fearsome frown was Gwendolyn Post, Faith’s adopted mother. Giles moved to stand beside Buffy’s chair.

“Glad you could join us, Mr Giles,” Snyder said with an arched eyebrow, as though he had requested Giles’s presence hours ago rather than the mere five minutes it had actually been.

“Yes,” Giles responded shortly, “here I am. What seems to be the problem?”

Despite his outwardly polite tone, Giles already wanted to throttle the smug-looking man. But it would likely cost him his job, and would be rather difficult to explain to Joyce, so he refrained.

Before Snyder could speak, however, Gwen Post turned to face Giles. “It seems the girls have been skipping class again,” she said in a tone that suggested Giles should have already known this detail. “This is the fourth time in as many weeks that they have failed to show up to classes.”

Giles frowned at that, looking down at Buffy. She responded by sliding further down in her seat, biting her lip and avoiding his gaze.

“Normally this would be a matter for the parents,” Snyder said to Giles, eyes glinting nastily as he said the word ‘parents’, “but Mrs Giles wasn’t answering her phone, and this issue needs to be resolved.”

“I see,” Giles responded tightly. “You do realise that as Buffy’s step-father, and with her biological father out of the picture, I essentially am her parent?”

If Snyder were more sensible, he perhaps would have sensed the threat in his voice. Buffy and Faith certainly did. Even without looking, Giles knew they were staring up at him. Buffy was wide-eyed and worried, while Faith seemed a little more amused with the situation. It was well-known that Snyder and Giles didn’t get on, and Giles couldn’t help but wonder if Faith was hoping for a fight.

“‘ _Essentially_ ’,” Snyder echoed with an annoying smirk, “isn’t exactly the same as being Buffy’s parent, though. Still, you’ll do for now. I’ll be phoning your wife later to speak with her about the matter.”

Giles wanted to make a remark, but he instead bit his tongue. Besides, he could see that Gwen was getting just as frustrated with Snyder as he was, so he decided to let her deal with matters. After all, she wouldn’t lose her job if she snapped at him.

“What exactly will you be telling Joyce?” Gwen asked, arching her eyebrow. “You haven’t yet told me what you plan to do with the girls.”

Snyder had a particularly smug look on his face then, and Giles saw Buffy stiffen. “Well, seeing as this is, as you so kindly reminded me, the fourth time in four weeks that Miss Summers and Miss Lehane have failed to show up for second period, I think it’s only right that I suspend the pair of them.”

Giles couldn’t quite stop an outburst then. “Oh, for god’s sake,” he growled. “You’re suspending them? Your response to them skipping a class is to make them miss more classes by not allowing them on school grounds? I am aware of the school’s disciplinary measures, you know, and suspension certainly does not come before a detention!”

Beside Faith, Gwen was looking equally angry. “It certainly doesn’t,” she agreed, tone sharp. “I may not work here like Mr Giles, but I am fully up to date with the school’s procedures for such matters, and this is not the correct way to handle it!”

Inexplicably though, Snyder still looked smug. “I don’t know how you do things at your schools in England,” he stated, giving both adults a pointed look, “but here in California we don’t like having students in the school who disrupt the learning of others. As principal, it is my decision how to deal with the troublemakers. If I decide that a detention isn’t a good enough deterrent for certain delinquents,” he looked to Buffy and Faith, “I can simply move to the next stage. And that’s suspension.” He fixed everyone in the room with a smug smile. “They’re suspended for five and a half days. Effective immediately. We’ll count this as the half day, and I don’t expect to see them back in my school until a week Monday.”

Clearly there was nothing else to say after that, and Buffy and Faith slowly got to their feet. Neither of them really wanted to look at the respective parents, so they grabbed their bags and headed out the office.

* * *

“Hey, B, look on the bright side,” Faith smirked once they were out in the corridor. “Long weekend!”

“I think not,” Gwen’s irritated voice came from behind them before Buffy could respond. “You’re not getting out of schoolwork just because Principal Snyder refuses to let you on school grounds.”

Faith pouted at that news. “What? Not even after you agreed Snyder was out of line suspending us?”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “I disagree with his methods, yes,” she responded, “but you still skipped class and as a result I’m grounding you. No Bronze, no video games, no friends round.” The last was said with a pointed look towards Buffy. “And don’t even think about sneaking out.”

Knowing it was pointless arguing with her adopted mother, Faith just growled and stomped off towards her locker to retrieve her books. With an eye roll, Gwen followed her.

“How mad are you?” Buffy asked Giles as Gwen disappeared around the corner.

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Do I have to answer that, or should I just glare?”

Buffy bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I just... I _hate_ my history class this year, ok? I spent all last year finally getting my grades up, and it was all for nothing. Nothing I’m learning is going in, and it just makes me feel stupid to even try!” 

She was almost in tears, and Giles sighed. “Buffy, you should have spoken to me or your mother about it, rather than simply skipping class. We would have helped.”

Buffy gave her a tearful, slightly incredulous look then, suggesting she didn’t really believe him. He fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Honestly, Buffy,” Giles said in vague annoyance. “I have a history degree from Oxford, I worked at the British Museum for a decade before moving to Los Angeles, and then I worked for several years in the Natural History Museum. I think I know enough about history to help with your homework.”

Buffy sniffled and lowered her gaze. “I guess so.”

With another sigh, Giles nudged her down the corridor. “Go get your books from your locker. I’ll give your mother a ring.”

* * *

To say that Joyce was displeased about having to pick Buffy up from school in the middle of the day would have been an understatement. The drive home was awkward and tense, and Buffy was almost too scared to speak for fear she’d set her mother off on a rant. She’d been dealing with a client at the gallery when Snyder had phoned, and had picked up when Giles had phoned her just over fifteen minutes later. Buffy didn’t know how much her step-father had divulged over the phone, but it was enough for Joyce to be giving her the silent treatment.

When they finally pulled up outside 1630 Revello Drive, Buffy was surprised when her mother cut the engine and slipped out the car with her.

“Don’t you have to get back to work?” Buffy asked before she could stop herself.

Joyce fixed her daughter with a look. “I’ve got Maria covering,” came the tense reply. “I’m having to pay her overtime.”

Buffy swallowed. “I’d be fine here by myself if you need to get back to the gallery,” she said. Immediately she knew it was the wrong thing to say.

“Buffy,” Joyce said with a sigh, “I’m not leaving you here alone. Not after several weeks of you skipping classes. I clearly can’t trust you to stay here and do school work unless I watch you, so you’re going to have to put up with me.”

Jaw clenched, Buffy grabbed her school supplies from the backseat and stomped up the porch.

* * *

Giles came home at just before five. Buffy was in her room, having been banished there by Joyce the moment she’d finished her homework. Apparently skipping class meant no television. Her phone had been confiscated too.

But despite being shut away upstairs, Buffy could just faintly make out her parents’ voices. Opening her door slightly, she slid down to the ground to listen in. It wasn’t like she’d left her room or anything, so she wasn’t breaking any rules.

“-about her history grades?” Giles was saying gently. “She’s really struggling, Joyce.”

Joyce sighed. “Well maybe if she actually went to class...”

“It’s making her feel stupid,” Giles responded calmly. “She was nearly in tears when she spoke with me about it. This isn’t just her not going to class because she doesn’t feel like it. She’s skipping lessons because she’d rather get in trouble with Snyder than feel inadequate in class.”

Buffy swallowed then. Trust Giles to figure that out. 

“Snyder said Faith was skipping classes too,” Joyce said softly. “I’m guessing Gwen wasn’t pleased?”

“I didn’t have time to talk to her,” Giles admitted, “but she didn’t seem pleased, no.”

Joyce sighed again. “What are we going to do?”

The tone of her mother’s voice nearly brought tears to Buffy’s eyes. Her mother sounded so forlorn, so worried. She hadn’t meant to worry her parents. She and Faith had just thought it would be more fun to skip class and hang out together than feel like idiots in classes they didn’t understand.

“I’ve already spoken to her a little about helping her out, but maybe we need to look at getting her a tutor,” Giles said. “I’m not sure myself or Willow would be the best option for Buffy. I know some of the college students do tutoring on the side; it might be a good idea to look into it.”

And then there were footsteps, and her parents moved away from the stairs so Buffy couldn’t hear them any longer. With a sigh, she got to her feet and shut her door.

* * *

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Faith grumbled as she picked at her dinner.

Gwen fixed her with a look across the dining table. “You know full well what ‘the big deal’ is, Faith. You cannot skip class. Especially one as important as math.”

But Faith simply shrugged. “I have a calculator on my phone, if I need to do math I just use that.”

Unsurprisingly, that wasn’t what her mother wanted to hear. “Faith, if you keep on like this then Principal Snyder may very well exclude you entirely. And then what will you do with your life?”

Faith could feel Gwen’s gaze on her, and she shifted uncomfortably. In all honesty, she’d not stopped to consider what would happen if she pushed Snyder too far. He was fun to wind up, but the problem with Snyder was that you couldn’t always tell when he was going to blow. It was funny when he blew things out of proportion when you weren’t in the firing line, but somehow Faith doubted it would be that funny if he was aiming directly at you. 

Gwen’s gaze was still on her, and Faith had no answer to her question. Suddenly not feeling very hungry, she pushed her plate away and excused herself to head to her room.

* * *

“Buffy, honey, Rupert and I were talking earlier and we think we might need to look into getting you a tutor for history.”

Buffy swallowed the mouthful of food and looked at her parents. “Right,” she said, not really knowing what else to say.

“Just for a little while,” Joyce continued, “to help you with some of your classes.”

“I know that some of the students at UC Sunnydale offer tutoring,” Giles chipped in with a reassuring smile. “I happen to know one of the history professors, and I thought perhaps I could contact him to see if he could recommend a student.”

Buffy swallowed, before shrugging. “I guess so.” She really didn’t want to talk about it.

Joyce sighed at her daughter’s response. “Buffy, this is really for the best. You’re struggling so much that you’re skipping class, and it isn’t acceptable. You wouldn’t come to either me or Rupert for help, and while Willow has been able to help in the past, I think this might be a bit beyond her.”

At her mother’s words, Buffy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “It’s not _that_ bad,” she mumbled, cheeks flushing.

“Yes it is,” Giles countered gently before Joyce could say anything. “You admitted yourself that you feel inadequate in class and that you skipped class as a result.” He paused, setting down his cutlery and moving his hand across the table to rest over Buffy’s. “This isn’t a punishment, you know. Neither I nor your mother like seeing you this upset, especially over a class. A tutor will mean that you can learn here, without fear of others judging you if you need to ask questions. You’re not a stupid girl, Buffy. In fact, you’re a lot cleverer than you think. You just need to believe in yourself more and accept a little help every now and then.”

Buffy flushed at Giles’s words. She hadn’t felt clever in history class for a very long time. She had never done particularly well in the subject, even at Hemery, but she also hadn’t done too badly. Until this year, and Mrs Dalton. Maybe Mrs Dalton hated her and was deliberately making the class even more difficult. Maybe everyone was in on it. Even Snyder. It wouldn’t surprise her.

But the more she thought about it, the more a tutor didn’t sound quite so scary. Like Giles said, they could tutor her at home. There would be no classroom full of people to laugh at her for asking a silly question. Nobody to sneer at her for messing up dates, or names. She wouldn’t have to be scared of being mocked, or of seeing the sympathetic looks Willow cast her way when Buffy met up with her after class.

“I suppose so,” she said at last, giving her step-father a small smile.

Both Giles and Joyce beamed back. 

“Good,” Giles said, withdrawing his hand and picking up his cutlery again. “I’ll give Mr Wyndam-Pryce a call tomorrow.”

* * *

“A tutor? Man, that sucks, B,” Faith said, wrinkling her nose up.

“Maybe it won’t be that bad,” Buffy responded with a shrug, but her tone suggested she was far from convinced. “How angry was Gwen?”

Faith snorted and picked at a loose thread on her shirt. “I’m grounded. No phone or TV.”

“Same,” Buffy told her girlfriend. Then she thought. “So how much trouble will you be in if Gwen finds out you sneaked out?”

At that, Faith gave a wicked grin. “Dunno, B,” she shrugged. “How much trouble will _you_ be in?”

Buffy fixed Faith with a haughty look at that. “I’m not the one breaking rules,” she responded. “Look, I’m still in my room.” She gestured around her. “It’s not _my_ fault my delinquent girlfriend climbed up onto my roof.”

Faith grinned from her position outside Buffy’s bedroom window, and reached through to pull Buffy closer. “So I go through all this trouble to come see you and I don’t even get a kiss?”

“Hmm, maybe I do owe you a quick kiss from risking Gwen’s wrath...”

Buffy had barely finished speaking before Faith’s lips were pressed against hers. The kiss lasted several seconds before they heard Joyce’s voice distantly calling for Buffy and the two girls jerked away from one another.

“I’d better go,” Faith said reluctantly. “Before Gwen catches on.”

And then she slid down the roof and leapt down into the grass. As Joyce’s footsteps sounded outside the bedroom, Buffy quickly slid the window shut and crossed to her bed.

* * *

By Saturday lunchtime, Mr Wyndam-Pryce and Giles had apparently compiled a list of potential new tutors for Buffy. From what Buffy understood, Mr Wyndam-Pryce had gone to the same posh boarding school Giles had, and while their paths hadn’t crossed there, their fathers knew each other. Apparently Giles wasn’t the only displaced Brit in Sunnydale.

“I’ll see about emailing them this afternoon,” Giles said over lunch. “I explained to Mr Wyndam-Pryce what we were looking for, and everyone he suggested sounded very promising, but it will depend on their schedule, I suppose.”

“Why do you keep calling him ‘Mr Wyndam-Pryce’, anyway?” Buffy asked, scrunching her nose up in confusion. “I thought you said you knew him?”

Giles shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. “Knowing him isn’t the same as being friends with him, Buffy. And although our fathers knew each other, they weren’t friends either. At best, the Wyndam-Pryces and the Gileses are acquaintances.”

Buffy arched an eyebrow at that. “So you don’t even _like_ this guy?” she asked. “Why do you talk to him then? Didn’t you say you were in contact with him a lot?”

“Buffy,” Joyce warned, fixing her daughter with a pointed look. “You’re already grounded. If you don’t stop harassing Rupert, you’ll be grounded even longer.”

Buffy huffed, and resumed picking at her sandwich.

“If you must know,” Giles said with a slightly amused tone, “I contact him because, though I’m loathe to admit it, he is a very clever man, and sometimes he lends me books for my research.”

“Only _you_ would read history books for fun, Giles,” Buffy mumbled, but there was a teasing quality to her voice.

Joyce rolled her eyes. “Anyway,” she stated pointedly, trying to steer the conversation back on track, “like Rupert said, we’ll be emailing some of the tutors this afternoon. We won’t pick anyone without speaking to you first, but you can’t just refuse everyone we suggest, am I clear?”

Buffy pouted at that, but nodded reluctantly. “Just don’t pick anyone weird,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “And nobody too... Bossy.”

Joyce said nothing at that, and Buffy dejectedly turned back to her lunch.

* * *

It was early Saturday evening when Buffy heard a knock on her bedroom door. She’d been banished back to her room after lunch, and had been lounging on her bed staring at the ceiling.

“Buffy?” Giles called through the door. “May I come in?”

She sighed, and called out the affirmative, pushing herself into a sitting position just as the door opened. Giles slipped into the room with a slight smile, a sheaf of papers in hand.

“Thought I’d bring these up,” he said, holding the papers up and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “It’s a list of potential tutors and a short biography each. Your mother and I want you to take a look through and pick out two or three that you like the sound of, and then we can contact them about scheduling some sessions.”

“Two or three?” Buffy asked, wrinkling her nose. “Are my grades really that bad?”

At her bewildered look, Giles couldn’t help giving her a fond, amused smile. “You only need the one tutor, Buffy. But it would help your mother and I if you picked a couple out so that we can arrange a taster session, if you will. If you pick one and you change your mind after your first session, we already have another tutor we can try.”

Buffy nodded slowly at the explanation, taking a moment to thumb through the pieces of paper. “There are a lot of names here,” she said after a moment, wide-eyed.

Giles sighed. “Just please don’t rush this,” he told her seriously. “It might be tempting to simply pick the first three, but part of the reason why UC Sunnydale has each of the student tutors include a biography is so that you can pick people you’ll actually get on with. So please take time to actually read through it all.” He stood then, and surveyed Buffy for a moment. “Your mother said to tell you dinner will be in an hour.”

* * *

“Which one are you gonna pick?” Faith asked as she scanned the list of tutors.

“Don’t know,” Buffy admitted with a shrug. “Giles wants me to pick a couple. You know, so we’ve got a couple of back-ups.”

Faith nodded. “Sounds good. Don’t wanna get stuck with a complete bore; they’ve gotta be able to hold your interest, you know?”

Buffy snorted. “Coming from the girl who encouraged me to skip class in the first place.”

At that, Faith held her hands up in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t like to see my girlfriend upset, so sue me. I thought you could do with getting out of there for a bit, having some fun.”

“I know,” Buffy sighed, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry, Faith. I just... I hate this whole thing, you know? Mom and Giles have convinced me that a tutor wouldn’t be a bad idea, and I agree, but I’ll still have to sit through history class...”

“Can’t you ask to switch classes?” Faith asked with a frown. “Come on, B, your step-dad literally works at the school. Why can’t you have him pull some strings and get you a different teacher?”

“Like Snyder would agree to that,” Buffy complained. “I’ll probably just have to suck it up and deal.”

Faith let out a loud sigh then, and clambered through the window to pull Buffy in for a hug. “We might not be able to get you a history teacher that doesn’t make you feel like crap, but at least we can find you an awesome tutor, right?”

Buffy hummed in agreement, settling into her girlfriend’s embrace. They stayed like that for a minute or so before reluctantly pulling away to sit on the bed.

“Have you looked through this yet?” Faith asked as she spread out the list of possible tutors.

“A bit,” Buffy nodded. “I looked through it before dinner, but I don’t really know what I’m looking for. They’re all history students; some professor friend of Giles gave him the list.”

Faith frowned as she surveyed the list of names. “Anya Jenkins,” she read aloud, before glancing up at Buffy. “Isn’t she the one who works at the Bronze?”

“I think so,” Buffy admitted. “I’m not sure whether to put her down. She seems a bit... Bossy.”

Faith tilted her head to one side as she considered that. “I get that,” she said after a moment. “But she might also be a good tutor. I mean, she helped you out at the Bronze after that guy was pestering you, and I get the impression she’s pretty smart.”

Buffy let out a sigh. “I suppose it’s worth a shot,” she murmured slowly. “But I still need to find at least another one or two tutors.”

Faith scanned a few of the other names on the list. “Hey, there’s someone called Angel on here, too. Angel O’Connor.” She grinned, looking up at her girlfriend. “Reckon that’s the guy from that awful band?”

Buffy frowned, and then shrugged. “I mean, how many people called Angel can there be in Sunnydale?” she pointed out.

“Well, we can put him on the list,” Faith said, reaching over to the bedside table for a pen to circle both Angel’s and Anya’s names. “He seemed nice enough. I just hope his tutoring is more successful than his band.” 

At Faith’s smirk, Buffy let out a laugh. As Faith joined in with the laughter, neither of them heard the approaching footsteps outside the bedroom.

“Buffy?” The door suddenly swung open to reveal a confused Joyce. “You’re supposed to be in bed...”

Joyce trailed off at the sight of Buffy and Faith side by side on the bed. Both girls went wide-eyed, and Faith let out one last snigger.

“Uh, hi Joyce,” she managed, trying to school her facial expression.

“Faith,” Joyce greeted tensely. Her eyes darted to the open bedroom window as she realised how Faith had got into the house. 

Buffy was still wide-eyed and regarding her mother in silence as more footsteps approached and Giles appeared behind Joyce’s shoulder.

“Joyce, what-” Giles asked, before trailing off at the sight in Buffy’s room. “Oh.”

As Joyce folded her arms across her chest, Faith leapt from the bed. 

“I should really be going now,” she said quickly. “I’ll see you later, B.” She darted forward to kiss Buffy’s cheek before heading for the window.

“Faith,” Joyce spoke up with a sigh, “please use the door.”

One leg already out the door, Faith froze, blinked, and sheepishly pulled her leg back into the room. “Right. I’ll see you all later.”

As Faith hurried from the room, Buffy grimaced and reluctantly turned her attention back to her parents. 

“So,” she began cautiously. “Just how much trouble am I in?”


End file.
